Meehan's Bartender Manual - [A Cocktail Reference and Recipe Book]

A knowledge-filled tome for true cocktail nerds or those aspiring to be (Esquire), from one of the world s most acclaimed bartenders

WINNER OF THE JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER OF THE TALES OF THE COCKTAIL SPIRITED AWARD® FOR BEST NEW COCKTAIL OR BARTENDING BOOK IACP AWARD FINALIST

Meehan s Bartender Manual is acclaimed mixologist Jim Meehan s magnum opus and the first book of the modern era to explain the bar industry from the inside out. With chapters that mix cocktail history with professional insights from experts all over the world, this deep dive covers it all: bar design, menu development, spirits production, drink mixing technique, the craft of service and art of hospitality, and more.

The book also includes recipes for 100 cocktails culled from the classic canon and Meehan s own storied career. Each recipe reveals why Meehan makes these drinks the way he does, offering unprecedented access to a top bartender s creative process.

Whether you re a professional looking to take your career to the next level or an enthusiastic amateur interested in understanding the how and why of mixology, Meehan s Bartender Manual is the definitive guide.

Leseprobe:

In the spirit of Craddock s The Savoy Cocktail Book, my first book, The PDT Cocktail Book, was a snapshot of what I hope many will fondly recall as a seminal moment in cocktail history. It s a recipe book first and foremost, documenting the popular ingredients and proportions used to make classic and contemporary cocktails at the time of its publication.

In this book, instead of focusing on a particular time and place, I ve panned back to address a much more layered subject: bartending itself. I ll begin with a chapter on the history of the American cocktail, from seventeenth-and eighteenth-century punch to the neoclassical cocktails we drink today. From there, I move onto chapters on bar design, tools and techniques, service, and hospitality. This book does include cocktail recipes one hundred total, which include classics and my own signatures plus spirits primers to help stock your bar. Each recipe includes information on the origin of the drink, the logic behind why it works, and hacks for the curious bartender.

Throughout the book you ll find insights from more than fifty friends, colleagues, and mentors who ve shaped my views of the craft of bartending. I ve included quotes from my former employers, Audrey Saunders and Jimmy Bradley, colleagues like Jeff Bell and Don Lee, icons like Dale DeGroff and David Wondrich, lifelong friends like Brian Bartels and my brother Peter, and spirits producers like Hans Reisetbauer and Beppe Musso. I hope that you ll be as inspired by them as I have been.

I didn t learn how to tend bar from reading books. Tending bar is mastered through thousands of hours spent watching, listening, and learning from your colleagues and guests. That said, I hope this book will foster dialogue about how and why we tend bar. Some of my most respected colleagues and friends (even those featured in the book s portraits) may disagree with the philosophy and practices I ve outlined here so I m sincerely eager for them to weigh in on the conversation. There are many ways to succeed in the bar business; this is mine.